This application is an application filed under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 371 as a national stage of international application PCT/FR99/01853, which was filed Jul. 28, 1999.
The present invention relates to a fluid product sample in the form of a substantially flat dispenser. The invention thus relates to a miniature spray that is preferably discardable and that is adapted in particular to the fields of perfumery or cosmetics.
The problems which arise for such a fluid dispenser lie particularly with the requirements for manufacture to be low cost. Since product samples are generally not for sale, manufacturing cost must be as low as possible. It is therefore important to have devices whose parts are easily mass produced and which can be assembled together simply. In addition, since product samples are used mainly for publicity purposes, it is desirable to be able to be place a trademark, logo, or other distinctive sign corresponding to the product contained in the dispenser in visible manner thereon. Similarly, it is desirable to provide a device that is original in shape and practical to use. For example, for product samples that are to be included in magazines and newspapers, it is essential for the dispenser to be very thin. Furthermore, it is also important for spraying to be of good quality.
The dispenser device of the invention can also find applications in the field of pharmacy. In this particular field, it is important for the dose of fluid to be accurate.
By way of example, document FR-A-2 443 980 discloses a discardable spray made by sheets of plastic which are heat-sealed together to define between them a reservoir and two swirling channels connected to a spray orifice. By pressing on the reservoir whose walls are made by the sheets of plastic, fluid is delivered into the swirling channels and then through the spray orifice so as to spray a jet of the product. Nevertheless, that discardable spray is not suitable for expelling a defined dose of the fluid. Furthermore, making swirling channels by heat-sealing two sheets of plastic together is rather inaccurate and random. In one version of that spray, the reservoir is subdivided into two chambers by a partition which breaks under the action of the pressure. One chamber is filled with a fluid while the other chamber contains another fluid and air. In addition, the reservoir is separated from the spray orifice by a weak point. Initially, when pressure is applied to the reservoir, the partition breaks and the two fluids mix together and with the air to a greater or lesser extent. In any event, the mixing performed in this way cannot be homogeneous. By increasing the pressure, the point of weakness is broken and the non-homogeneous mixture is delivered to the spray orifice. The jet leaving the orifice is sometimes made up of the first fluid, sometimes of the second fluid, and sometimes of air, but it is never a homogenous-mixture of all three; As a result the jet is sometimes purely aqueous and sometimes it is made up of two phases. Its quality is therefore not constant.
Document WO 98/01360 discloses a two-phase dispenser capable of delivering a measured quantity of fluid in the form of a spray. That dispenser is also designed to serve as a miniature spray in the form of a product sample. It has two air reservoirs and one reservoir for the fluid, with all of the reservoirs being connected to a common spray orifice. Upstream from the spray orifice, there is provided a fiber which is capable of being soaked in the fluid. Consequently, the air which is expelled from the air reservoir passes through the fiber which is soaked with the fluid that is expelled from the two fluid reservoirs. To actuate the device, a presser member is provided in the form of a tongue that can be applied to the reservoirs in such a manner as to squash them, thereby causing the fluid and the air to be delivered to the spray orifice. The various reservoirs are formed between a support and a flexible barrier film. The presser tongue has the effect of pressing the film against the support where together they form the reservoirs for the fluid and air.
In that dispenser, the fiber which serves as means for retaining the fluid and for passing the air is received in a recess formed by the support film. At the outlet from the fiber, the fluid is merely propelled by the air through the spray orifice which is formed by the film being locally separate. Consequently, the shape of the spray orifice is not suitable for supplying a spray jet of acceptable quality. In addition, given that the fiber is protected only by the film, it can happen that the fiber is damaged through the film. This can cause the fiber to be moved beneath the film which has the effect of spoiling spraying.
Similarly, in the dispenser of document FR-A-2 448 980, the spray orifice is formed in one or the other of the two plastic sheets in the form of a simple hole. As a result, the shape of the orifice is not precise and this affects the quality of spraying.
Mention can also be made of document U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,831 which describes a spray comprising shell closed by a capsule and in which the spray orifice is formed. A porous disk is placed upstream from the orifice and is held in place in a tube which is fixed to the shell. In that case also, the spray orifice formed in the shell cannot be of good quality because of the nature of the shell.
An object of the present invention is to solve this problem of the prior art by defining a low cost dispenser device which ensures that spraying is of good quality under all circumstances. In addition, the volume of the dose that is delivered should be constant and accurate. Furthermore, in certain applications, and in particular in publicity applications, the dispenser should satisfy certain dimensional requirements, in particular it should be very thin so as to be suitable for being incorporated in a magazine or a journal. It should also be capable of withstanding high pressures without the product leaking out. When such a product sample is included in a journal, for example, and when the journals are stacked, the included product samples are subjected to high pressure.
To resolve this problem, the present invention proposes a fluid product sample in the form of a substantially flat dispenser comprising:
at least one thermoformed shell forming part of a reservoir and defining a deformable actuation wall;
an additional element such as a capsule-forming substrate or film or a thermoformed shell for finishing off the reservoir, with the reservoir formed in this way containing at least a gas;
a spray orifice through which the fluid is sprayed;
a porous material piece capable of retaining a quantity of fluid, said piece being disposed upstream from the spray orifice and placed in contact with and/or soaked in the fluid; and
a support member fixed to the thermoformed shell to hold the porous material piece in place, the spray orifice being formed by the support member.
Such a support member thus performs a first function of holding the porous piece, a second function of fixing to the thermoformed shell, and a third function as a surface that defines the spray orifice. In this manner, it is guaranteed that the quality of spraying at the outlet from the spray orifice is good. The porous piece is properly held behind the spray orifice which can be precision-molded in the support member. This is not possible with the dispensers of the two above-mentioned prior art documents since the elements defining the spray orifice cannot be formed with precision given that the first is a flexible barrier film and the second is a flexible plastics sheet. By using a support member that is molded in a plastics material that is relatively hard and having a certain wall thickness, a spray orifice can be molded accurately with a suitable shape, e.g. defining a hole which is extended outwards by a diffusion cone, as is the case for the spray orifice of a conventional spray nozzle.
In an embodiment of the invention, the orifice opens out in the thermoformed shell. In which case the spray orifice can be masked before use by a portion of the thermoformed shell which can be folded back or torn off to unmask the orifice. In a variant, the spray orifice can be masked before use by a tear-off tongue which is stuck to the thermoformed shell. In yet another variant, the support member can form a tear-off endpiece which closes the spray orifice.
In another embodiment, the orifice opens out in the additional element. In this case, the orifice can be masked before use by a tear-off tongue stuck to the additional element.
In yet another embodiment, the support member includes a separate nozzle fitted thereto to define the spray orifice.
Advantageously, the nozzle can be engaged by force in the support member. In addition, the support member can form a tear-off endpiece which closes the spray orifice. Given that the endpiece masks the spray orifice, it is technically easier to form the orifice in a separate element which is substantially mounted on the support member. This simplifies molding and improves precision in the spray orifice.
In order to ensure that the porous piece is properly stable and held well inside the support member, the support member can define a housing in which the piece of porous material is received.
According to another characteristic, the support member defines a shaped appendix for fixing to the thermoformed shell. Advantageously, the shaped appendix has ribs for fixing by heat-sealing.
In another aspect which is particularly advantageous, the support member has a separation wall locally subdividing the reservoir into compartments. In a practical embodiment, the separation wall extends from the appendix, flaring outwardly to form a dome. This separation wall subdividing the reservoir into compartments in the vicinity of the porous piece and thus in the vicinity of the spray orifice has the function of keeping the fluid away from the porous piece while said dispenser is being actuated so that the porous piece presents a maximum surface area for contact with the air present in the reservoir. This ensures proper two-phase dispensing of the fluid. It is important for the porous piece not to be completely immersed during dispensing since that would inevitably give rise to poor quality dispensing due to the absence of the gaseous phase.
Still for the purpose of improving the quality of the two-phase dispensing, the piece made of porous material is of a shape that is suitable for increasing its external surface area so as to increase its contact area with the gas during dispensing. Advantageously, the porous material piece is elongate in shape being placed in the longitudinal direction of the product sample, said piece being formed with a partial collar that defines a substantially semi-annular surface. By increasing the surface area of this porous piece, its contact area with the gas is necessarily increased, thereby increasing the gas content and thus improving the quality of dispensing.
The invention is described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings which show various embodiments of the present invention by way of non-limiting example.